


Stray Kittens

by Lothiriel84



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-03
Updated: 2012-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 04:37:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/581379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had the same determined look that showed on her mother's face whenever she was trying to save the world – or part of it, at the very least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stray Kittens

**Author's Note:**

> Future fic. Written for the Winter PIRvent Calendar 2012 on Paint It Red forum.   
> There might be slight spoilers for "Red Dawn".  
> Thanks to the lovely Miss Peg for betaing my story.

He could tell that his daughter was up to something the moment he spotted her tiptoeing upstairs.

She had the same determined look that showed on her mother's face whenever she was trying to save the world – or part of it, at the very least.

"Alison, honey, what are you hiding under your sweater?"

"Nothing, Daddy."

"You're a bad liar, just like your mom."

His little girl was way too adorable when she pouted. In the end she simply gave up and showed him what she had tucked under her pullover.

Jane wasn't actually expecting to see a tiny fur ball with big green eyes. He blinked a couple of times.

"A kitten? Where did you find it?"

"In our garden. I asked all the neighbors, but it doesn't belong to anyone."

"So you're planning to keep it."

It wasn't a question. Alison nodded hopefully.

"Poor little kitten, we can't leave it all alone – can we?"

Jane gave her an affectionate smile. "Guess we can't."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Don't thank me yet. You have to ask your mom as well."

"She'll love my kitten."

He wasn't so sure of it, but refrained from telling his daughter.

"Is it already _your_ kitten?"

"Yeah. And now I'm going to clean it up."

She rushed upstairs, leaving her father rooted to the spot. That's how Teresa found him when she came home some ten minutes later.

"What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Slowly he turned to face her. "I'm your stray kitten, am I not?"

"What?"

No matter how long they'd been married, she still had trouble following his logic sometimes.

"You couldn't resist the urge to take care of me right from the moment I showed up at the CBI. I was a mess, but you cleaned me up and gave me a reason to wake up in the morning – other than getting my revenge."

"I _told_ you to clean up. To be honest, I recall you didn't do a great job of it the first time around."

He smirked as he slid his arms around her waist. "Well, maybe the process took a bit more than either of us was expecting. But you definitely saved me in the end."

"Only out of sheer luck."

His lips brushed at the corner of her mouth. "You should stop underestimating yourself, darling."

"Yeah, whatever."

"I wouldn't have cleaned up for anybody else, you know that?"

"Huh?"

"There was something about you that made me trust you implicitly. That's why I did what you asked me to do."

Teresa looked him in the eyes, slightly taken aback by this heartfelt admission coming from him.

"Really?"

"Come on, woman – why should I lie to you after all these years?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Do you ever regret giving up your revenge?"

"I wouldn't have liked ending up in jail, instead of starting a new life with you. And our daughter."

"Where is Alison, by the way?"

"Upstairs, trying to save her own kitten. She's positively taken after you."

"Please, tell me that it's not a _real_ kitten."

"It definitely is. A cute one, by the way."

His wife groaned. "Why a kitten?"

"Look on the bright side, dear. It could have been far worse – a pet snake, for example. Or even an elephant."

"Especially since you're always telling her stories about Daisy."

"Meh."

He nuzzled her sweet-smelling hair, well aware that she would eventually come around.

She always did after all.


End file.
